__________________________________________________________ The U.S. Department of Energy Computer Incident Advisory Capability ___ __ __ _ ___ / | /_\ / \___ __|__ / \ \___ __________________________________________________________ INFORMATION BULLETIN HTML Help ActiveX Control Cross Domain Vulnerability [Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-001 (890175)] January 12, 2005 13:00 GMT Number P-093 [REVISED 14 Jan 2005] ______________________________________________________________________________ PROBLEM: A vulnerability exists in the HTML Help ActiveX control in Windows that could allow information disclosure or remote code execution on an affected system. PLATFORM: Affected Software: • Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition with Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 • Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 • Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Service Pack 1 • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition • Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) – Review the FAQ section of this bulletin for details about these operating systems. Non-Affected Software: • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a without Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6 Tested Microsoft Windows Components: Affected Components: • Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 when installed on Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a or Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6 DAMAGE: An intruder will gain the privileges of the logged-in user. If the user has admin privileges, which is common, the attacker can gain root access on the system. SOLUTION: Apply the update. ______________________________________________________________________________ VULNERABILITY The risk is MEDIUM. The intruder would have to construct a ASSESSMENT: malicious website and lure the user there or construct a malicious e-mail and coerce the user to allow unsigned ActiveX controls to run in that message. ______________________________________________________________________________ LINKS: CIAC BULLETIN: http://www.ciac.org/ciac/bulletins/p-093.shtml ORIGINAL BULLETIN: Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-001 (890175) http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS05-001.mspx ADDITIONAL LINK: Symantec #11467 http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/security/ Content/11467.html US-CERT Vunlerability Note VU#972415 http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/972415 CVE/CAN: http://www.cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name= CAN-2004-1043 ______________________________________________________________________________ REVISION HISTORY: 01/14/2005 - added a link to US-CERT Vulnerability Note VU#972415. [***** Start Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-001 (890175) *****] Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-001 Vulnerability in HTML Help Could Allow Code Execution (890175) Issued: January 11, 2005 Version: 1.0 Summary Who should read this document: Customers who use Microsoft Windows Impact of Vulnerability: Remote Code Execution Maximum Severity Rating: Critical Recommendation: Customers should apply the update immediately. Security Update Replacement: None Caveats: Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 890175 documents the currently known issues that customers may experience when they install this security update. The article also documents recommended solutions for these issues. Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition are not affected by default. However, if you have installed Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1, which is the only supported version of Internet Explorer for Windows NT Server 4.0 and Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, you will have the affected component on your system. An update is available for these configurations: see the download for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1 under Affected Components. Tested Software and Security Update Download Locations: Affected Software: • Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 – Download the update • Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 and Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 – Download the update • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Service Pack 1 – Download the update • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition Version 2003 –Download the update • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 – Download the update • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 64-Bit Edition – Download the update • Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition (SE), and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) – Review the FAQ section of this bulletin for details about these operating systems. Non-Affected Software: • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a • Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6 Tested Microsoft Windows Components: Affected Components: • Internet Explorer 6.0 Service Pack 1 when installed on Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a or Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6 – Download the update The software in this list has been tested to determine if the versions are affected. Other versions either no longer include security update support or may not be affected. To determine the support life cycle for your product and version, visit the following Microsoft Support Lifecycle Web site. Top of section General Information Executive Summary Executive Summary: This update resolves a newly-discovered, publicly reported vulnerability. A vulnerability exists in the HTML Help ActiveX control in Windows that could allow information disclosure or remote code execution on an affected system. This vulnerability is documented in the Vulnerability Details section of this bulletin. If a user is logged on with administrative privileges, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full privileges. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer privileges on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative privileges. We recommend that customers install the update immediately. Severity Ratings and Vulnerability Identifiers: Vulnerability Identifiers Impact of Vulnerability Windows 98, 98 SE, ME Windows NT 4.0 Windows 2000 Windows XP Windows Server 2003 HTML Help ActiveX control Cross Domain Vulnerability - CAN-2004-1043 Remote Code Execution Critical Critical Critical Critical Moderate This assessment is based on the types of systems that are affected by the vulnerability, their typical deployment patterns, and the effect that exploiting the vulnerability would have on them. Top of section Security Update Information Installation Platforms and Prerequisites: For information about the specific security update for your platform, click the appropriate link: • Windows Server 2003 (all versions) • Windows XP (all versions) • Windows 2000 (all versions) • Windows NT 4.0 (all versions) Top of section Obtaining Other Security Updates: Updates for other security issues are available from the following locations: • Security updates are available from the Microsoft Download Center. You can find them most easily by doing a keyword search for "security_patch." • Updates for consumer platforms are available from the Windows Update Web site. Support: • Customers in the U.S. and Canada can receive technical support from Microsoft Product Support Services at 1-866-PCSAFETY. There is no charge for support calls that are associated with security updates. • International customers can receive support from their local Microsoft subsidiaries. There is no charge for support that is associated with security updates. For more information about how to contact Microsoft for support issues, visit the International Support Web site. Security Resources: • The Microsoft TechNet Security Web site provides additional information about security in Microsoft products. • Microsoft Software Update Services • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) • Windows Update • Windows Update Catalog: For more information about the Windows Update Catalog, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 323166. • Office Update Software Update Services: By using Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS), administrators can quickly and reliably deploy the latest critical updates and security updates to Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003-based servers, and to desktop systems that are running Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional. For more information about how to deploy this security update with Software Update Services, visit the Software Update Services Web site. Systems Management Server: Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) delivers a highly-configurable enterprise solution for managing updates. By using SMS, administrators can identify Windows- based systems that require security updates and to perform controlled deployment of these updates throughout the enterprise with minimal disruption to end users. For more information about how administrators can use SMS 2003 to deploy security updates, visit the SMS 2003 Security Patch Management Web site. SMS 2.0 users can also use Software Updates Service Feature Pack to help deploy security updates. For information about SMS, visit the SMS Web site. Note SMS uses the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Microsoft Office Detection Tool to provide broad support for security bulletin update detection and deployment. Some software updates may not be detected by these tools. Administrators can use the inventory capabilities of the SMS in these cases to target updates to specific systems. For more information about this procedure, see the following Web site. Some security updates require administrative rights following a restart of the system. Administrators can use the Elevated Rights Deployment Tool (available in the SMS 2003 Administration Feature Pack and in the SMS 2.0 Administration Feature Pack) to install these updates. Disclaimer: The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply. Revisions: • V1.0 (January 11, 2005): Bulletin published [***** End Microsoft Security Bulletin MS05-001 (890175) *****] _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Microsoft for the information contained in this bulletin. _______________________________________________________________________________ CIAC, the Computer Incident Advisory Capability, is the computer security incident response team for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the emergency backup response team for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CIAC is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. CIAC is also a founding member of FIRST, the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams, a global organization established to foster cooperation and coordination among computer security teams worldwide. CIAC services are available to DOE, DOE contractors, and the NIH. CIAC can be contacted at: Voice: +1 925-422-8193 (7x24) FAX: +1 925-423-8002 STU-III: +1 925-423-2604 E-mail: ciac@ciac.org Previous CIAC notices, anti-virus software, and other information are available from the CIAC Computer Security Archive. World Wide Web: http://www.ciac.org/ Anonymous FTP: ftp.ciac.org PLEASE NOTE: Many users outside of the DOE, ESnet, and NIH computing communities receive CIAC bulletins. If you are not part of these communities, please contact your agency's response team to report incidents. Your agency's team will coordinate with CIAC. The Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST) is a world-wide organization. A list of FIRST member organizations and their constituencies can be obtained via WWW at http://www.first.org/. This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. 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